


Process

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Aiden & Allison Argent, Alive Allison Argent & Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Bechdel Test Pass, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Conversations, Dark Character, Declarations Of Love, Dissociation, Disturbing Themes, Erica Reyes-centric, F/M, Family, Friends Become Romantic Partners, Interracial Relationship, Interspecies Friendship, Interspecies Romance, Isaac Lahey & Erica Reyes Friendship, Kidnapping, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Minor Allison Argent/Isaac Lahey, Morally Ambiguous Stiles Stilinski, POV Multiple, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Psychological Trauma, Recovery, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Vernon Boyd & Isaac Lahey & Erica Reyes Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 04:31:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7670140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. She has no idea what to do with her. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Process

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

Erica’s sure it says a number of things about her that she’ll never, ever talk to Marian Morrell but will do _this_.

She’s sure it says a number of things that she’s unlikely to find a qualified mental healthcare professional she doesn’t hate and mistrust but will do _this_.

“Your heart’s beating so fast.”

“It means I’m alive." She sits up. “If you and Lydia haven’t gotten back together by this Sunday, text me.”

“What if do?”

Getting dressed, she answers, “Then, you do. I don’t have objections to helping someone cheat, but you aren’t a cheater.”

“My one good quality,” he comments.

She shrugs. “Matter of opinion.”

“What, if you and Boyd were together-” He trails off.

Looking over, she asks, “Are you going to finish that thought?”

“Are you and he together?”

“No.”

…

In fact, Boyd might legitimately hate her.

If he doesn’t, he still makes it a point to utterly avoid her.

…

Every Sunday morning, she puts on a black blouse and skirt, tights, and Mary-Janes, drapes a black veil loosely over her curls, and puts on the beautiful cross her abuela, Grandma Juanita, got her for her seventh birthday. It’s gold and twisted with small rubies, diamonds, and onyxes spread over it.  

She attends Mass, receives communion, and afterwards, checks her phone for texts.

If she feels guilty for anything, it’s for making a mockery out of the faith Grandma Juanita sincerely holds so high.

…

Derek stares at her. “What in the hell are you doing?”

Her claws swipe across his face before he can react, and she has him on his stomach with them pressed against his neck in a matter of seconds. “Make some more betas if you’re so unhappy. But unless I become a threat to humans, leave me alone.”

She leaves.

…

Isaac dating Allison is nothing like what Erica does.

For thing, he genuinely likes Allison. For another, they’re an actual couple. They go on dates, talk about one another with friends, and all the other normal things couples do.

Still, she and Isaac are friends. They watch movies, go out dancing, and sometimes, simply sit together.

Their friendship is made possible by the fact they never talk about his relationship or what she does. 

…

Kira is sweet, bubbly, and almost grating in her continuing niceness. “Hey! Sorry, I had this whole speech prepared, because, I’m terrible at doing this, but now, the speech is all gone- Um, anyway, this Wednesday, it’s my birthday. On Saturday, I’m having a party. I’d love it if you could come.”

The invitation is something a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old girl would design and handout.

Except, most teenage girls would just send a text or email or post something online, and Erica finds herself personally offended.

“I have plans.” She hands the invitation back. “Happy early birthday, though.”

…

“Don’t you hate me?”

The question surprises her, and only her werewolf reflexes stop her from falling when she looks up from trying to put her Mary-Jane on. Lowering her foot, she stands up fully and stares for a long moment.

“I did,” she finally answers. “Before. I don’t really feel much of anything, now.”

“And you don’t care at all how I feel about you,” he sighs.

She resumes her task of putting the shoe on. “I used to wish that you hated me. Me and Boyd. I could have understood you and the others torturing us if it was about hate.”

…

“Could I talk to you about Kira’s birthday party?”

She can’t see Isaac, but she knows he’s nearby.

Looking up from her lunch, she replies, “Sure. What about it?”

Allison sits down. “We’ve never really talked about what I did.” She swallows. “Kidnapping you and Boyd. The arrows and torture. Would you accept an apology?”

“Whatever makes you feel better. Whether you believe it or not, I don’t care. You’re a werewolf hunter. We’re werewolves, and we tried to kill your friend. If you think I’m not going to Kira’s lame party because of you, you’re wrong. I have plans.”

She distinctly hears Isaac scoffing.

“And I think your boyfriend needs your attention.”

Appearing, Isaac quickly leads Allison away.

…

When she was younger, she considered herself a sex-positive person. She was afraid she’d never have sex, hopeful she would, and largely non-judgemental about the various ways other people might have it. Personally, she found the thought of doggy-style degrading and decided, if she ever did get lucky, it was one position she’d never agree to. 

However, she’s never thought people who did enjoy it were wrong.

She knows there’s probably something wrong with the fact it’s the only position she’ll agree to, now.

…

She has disturbing, surreal dreams about being walked in on.

Lydia walks in and screams. Or she calmly walks out, and no matter how dressed or undressed, he always chases after her.

Allison walks in. Sometimes, Lydia is with her, but she always prevents Lydia from seeing. Sometimes, she has her bow and arrow or a crossbow. Sometimes, she lectures. And sometimes, she simply calmly walks out.

…

Boyd gets a pretty, human girlfriend named Mandy Cho. She’s even shorter than Erica is, weighs about 95 pounds, and wears glasses. Her hair is in a pixie cut, she’s practicality addicted to lemon peppermint tea, and like Boyd, she’s on the honour roll.

Tentatively, Isaac asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” She looks over. “Seriously: I’m happy for him.”

He gives her a small smile.

…

When she starts to undo her skirt, he stops her.

“Thought you preferred it without clothes,” she comments.

Before she can turn around and climb onto the bed, he says, “This isn’t about that. Lydia and I are back together. I can’t do this anymore.”

She rolls her eyes. “And the reason you couldn’t just not call or send me a text telling me this is?”

He stares.

“Look, if you change your mind, you have my number. But don’t waste my time. I could be home talking to mi abuela right now.”

She leaves.

…

Unfortunately, she finds herself incredibly irritable.

To solve this, she buys a fake I.D., stuffs her purse with different types of condoms, and heads for a club at a nearby town.

…

He grabs her, and for a moment, she’s back in the vault.

“What in the hell are you doing?”

“I was dancing.”

“With a human who’s, at least, ten years older than you!”

She scoffs. “If this has something to do with Lydia, she isn’t going to think you’ve magically become a good guy because you stopped the girl you kidnapped and, then, screwed for several months from going off with a big bad perv. If it doesn’t, either back off, or let’s take this outside. Maybe I’ll win, this time. Or maybe you’ll actually kill me like Kali wanted to. Either way, I have better things to do than deal with you.”

He rubs the space above his eyes. “He’s human. If you accidentally hurt him, you think you can escape the Argents twice? Especially since Boyd won’t be taking any more arrows for you?”

“Damn it,” she mutters.

“Seeing my point?”

Shoving past him, she leaves.

…

“My dad made cookies,” Kira says. “They’re white chocolate with Macadamia nuts. Would you like some?”

She takes one off the plate.

Kira beams. “Have you ever made any? I feel kind of like a traitor for saying this, but your black-and-white cookies are the best I’ve ever had.”

Finishing the cookie, she says, “It’s good. Maybe tell your dad to add a little less vanilla.”

“Oh, um, okay. Would you like some more?”

“No, thanks.”

Kira wanders off.

…

“Lydia and- they’re off, again,” Isaac tells her.

“He doesn’t text, I don’t come. I don’t care what he and Lydia do or don’t do.”

…

“This isn’t going to be another waste of my time, is it?”

“No,” he answers.

She starts to crawl on the bed, and the prick his claws sliding into her neck paralyses her. “I’m always going to be the bad guy, and I’m okay with that. Your heart’s beating so fast.”

 _That means I’m alive_ , she thinks.

She manages to jerk one her hands, and her claws make contact with his leg.

He stumbles, and she tries to attack.

When his claw slashes across her cheek, everything goes black.

…

She wakes up cold and wet.

…

In and out of consciousness, she drifts.

…

Boyd’s howl jolts her awake, and shivering, she desperately tries to grasp what’s happening.

Slow breaths eventually clear her head enough and dampen the pain enough for her to realise she’s inside a well, and she doesn’t have her cell phone.

Numerous jumping attempts fail.

A memory of her tying her hair back and starting to climb the wall in the gym overtakes her.

Taking another breath and trying to ignore the pain, she stuffs her hair in the back of her shirt the best she can, manages to extend all four sets of claws, digs into the bricks, and starts climbing.

Eventually, she feels herself shaking, looks up, and through the tiny bit of sunlight coming through the trees, she thinks she sees a shimmering across the top of the well.

 _Mountain ash, probably_ , she realises.

Letting herself fall, she drinks some of the water until her throat isn’t as scratchy, clears it, and howls.

…

There’s another howl.

This one is from Isaac.

Gathering her strength, she returns it.

Up above, it’s night out, and she moves around to try to see if there’s any beam of moonlight she can get under.

…

When Boyd’s howl wakes her, she’s almost too weak to sit up fully.

She lets out a feeble howl.

…

Light blinds her.

“Boyd, no,” Allison Argent’s voice says.

“The seal’s broken. I can-”

“Boyd, listen to me and Allison. Please,” Chris Argent’s voice says. “If you knock down the bricks, they might hurt her. We don’t know if she’s been poisoned with wolfs bane or otherwise hurt by something.”

“Fine. Move.”

“Listen,” Chris repeats. “If necessary, I can pick Erica up, and you can pull us up. You can pick her up, but it would be hard for Allison and me to pull the two of you up. I’m not sure that Allison can lift her and hold her for long enough. Boyd, we’ve been working just as hard as you have to find her. We’re not going to hurt her, again.”

“Fine,” Boyd grits out. “Hurt her, though, and I kill your daughter.”

Allison scoffs. “If my dad hurts Erica, I won’t hold you trying to kill me against you. And when I’m done subduing you, I’ll handle him.”

“Erica,” she hears. “Argent is going to help you. Please, let him. I’m safe. You will be, too, I promise.”

Chris is shining a penlight at her face. “Erica, do you know who I am?”

“Chris Argent,” she mutters. “I heard.”

“Do you know what day it is?”

“No.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Are you human?”

“You know I’mma werewolf,” she mumbles.

“Erica, I want to help you. Will you let me pick you up?”

“Erica!”

“Stop yelling,” she orders. “Am I in a well? Did you- No, it was one of the twins. Boyd, are you still up there?”

“I’m still here,” he answers. “Let Argent pick you up.”

“Alright. Just so you know, though, I think I pissed myself, again.”

Chris sighs. “It’s okay.”

She’s lifted up, and suddenly, Boyd is holding her hand, and she can feel his energy flowing into her. 

Everything is clearer, and she slips her hand away. “Not too much. How long have I been missing?”

Moving some of the hair out of her face, he answers, “Almost two days.”

Reaching up, she feels the scratch is still on her face. “What now?”

“I got some of your clothes. We need to see Grandma Juanita as soon as possible.”

She groans. “Right, she’d come, wouldn’t she?”

Giving her a sympathetic look, he nods.

“Okay, I think I can stand.”

It turns out, she can’t.

“I’ve got you,” Boyd says.

Eventually, she tells him, “Stop here for a minute.”

He sets her down, and she feels strength flowing through her. Looking up, she sees the moon is about a quarter full and shining directly down. “Here’s good. I’m just going to stay here for a while.”

For some reason, Allison is radiating discomfort.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Boyd shrugs, and looking up, he tells the Argents, “I’ll protect her. When she’s ready, I’ll take her home.”

Nodding, Chris wraps an arm around Allison. “Come on, sweetheart. They’ll be fine, now.”

Erica isn’t so sure her part of they will be.

…

Derek appears with a bowl. “This will help you heal faster.”

“Thanks.” She tries to smile.

Sitting down on her bed, he carefully rubs the juice with pieces of leafs and chopped herbs on her scratch. “It’s how we handle our mistakes that matter. That’s what makes us who we are, not the fact we made them.”

…

They tell her parents and abuela her epilepsy returned, and she ended up getting lost in the woods.

Nurse McCall pretends to give her shots. “Why isn’t that scratch healing, sweetheart,” she quietly asks.

Looking into a mirror, Erica sees it’s almost gone. “Injuries by alphas don’t go away right away. It’ll be gone in another day or two.”

…

“I’m sorry,” she tells Boyd. “For everything.”

He shakes his head. “I’m the one who should be sorry. And I am. I shouldn’t have ignored you.”

“I had the option of reaching out. I didn’t. Besides, if you were screwing one of our kidnappers- let’s face it, I would gone nuclear on your ass. You just didn’t talk to me. More than understandable.”

Lying down, he wraps around her.

“I know I need help,” she says. “I’m not going to Deaton or Morrell. But I know I need to- I can’t keep going on like this.”

For months, everything was dull, and now, she can’t stop being angry.

Just because Chris Argent lifted her out of a well and Allison tried to apologise, though, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t hunt her down again if she lets her anger start flying.

Another part of her is just tired: Tired of being angry, tired of being scared, tired of being tired. All around her are normal children with normal problems, skilled werewolves and whatever Kira is, clueless grownups and grownups who know too much, and then, there’s her.

She has no idea what to do with her.

…

Stiles brings her a handful of new edition Batman comics.

“Thank you."

Shrugging, he sits down. “Just so you know, I know what it’s like to come back from something different and have everyone- people expect you to be mostly the same. And sometimes, you can, and you can’t. This isn’t bravado, okay? If you need to unload, no matter how dark, I can take it.”

She believes him, but though she trusted the goofy kid with a hidden dark side, she really doesn’t know this new Stiles enough to trust him. 

“No offence taken,” he continues. “But there’s someone else who might be able to help you. I actually think Boyd might like her.”

“I’m listening,” she says.

…

“My pack has a mantra. There are three things that cannot long be hidden: The sun, the moon, and the truth,” Satomi Ito says.

She nods politely.

“You disagree?”

“No, uh, I was just thinking about a friend of mine. He’d counter with places where the sun literally doesn’t shine, the moon doesn’t come out, and say, with all the secrets that took hundreds, even thousands of years, to come out, there’s a good argument some truths will never come out.”

Satomi nods. “All that is true. When it comes to people, however, more often than not, the truth comes out. The truth about what sort of person they are. Who are you, Erica? What sort of person are you?”

“That’s why I’m here. To try to find out,” she answers. “And to hopefully be a better one. If you mean what have I done recently, the top of that list is, there are twin, uh, I think they’re omegas now, but I don’t- They used to be alphas. I- I thought one of them still was? When he scratched me,” she rubs her cheek, “it took time to heal. But anyway, them and some other alphas locked us in a vault, and it was Hell. After we got out, I started screwing one of them. And that was the only time I really felt alive, but even then, I don’t know, I tried to just ignore any feelings except for the fact I could feel my body being alive.”

Letting out a sigh, Satomi gives her a small smile.

“Let me guess: Hopeless cause?”

A surprised look replaces the smile. “No, not at all.” Shaking her head, she briefly plays with one of Erica’s curls. “I promise you, Erica, there are so many worst things and so many people who have done these worse things. Some of them still have plenty of hope. So do you.”

“Yeah, uh, I also tried to kill a teenage girl. I mean, I honestly thought she was going around as a giant lizard killing people, but I was really eager to do it. Also, before the vault, I tried super hard to seduce another girl’s boyfriend.”

“My statement still holds,” Satomi declares. “When you’re ready, if I’m still here, I’ll help you try to make things right. However, the truth is, you aren’t ready for that. People- sometimes, they can heal by doing that. However, sometimes, until they’ve healed themselves, any attempt they make will meet with failure. Society has yet to learn and truly accept this. In some ways, you’re lucky that you don’t have to contend with many humans.”

“For right now, try to find things you took pleasure in before your kidnapping that still brings you pleasure. Seek out new things, as long as they don’t hurt others. Try not to hurt others, and know that, if you do, you might not be able to use your pain to excuse it and escape the consequences. There’s no magical cure, Erica. Overcoming trauma is a process, and it’s often a rocky one.”

…

Isaac usually sneaks in at night and sleeps curled up around her.

…

Setting a plate of black-and-white cookies on the school picnic table, Erica asks, “Could I sit down?”

Jumping, Kira looks up from her notebook. “Erica! Hi! Oh, are those-”

Sitting down, Erica says, “Yeah. Look before you start babbling-” She takes a breath. “I’m sorry. Starting over: The fact you’ve always been so nice to me means a lot. I’m sorry for basically ignoring you and being kinda of rude. The truth is, I have major issues, and I’ve recently started trying to work through them. So, there’s a chance it wouldn’t work, but uh, if you’d like, I’d like for us to try to be friends.”

Smiling softly, Kira says, “I’d like that.”

“Thank you.” She lets out another breath. “Do you or mom and dad have any allergies? I’m trying to get back into baking, so.”

…

Boyd walks her to school every day.

One morning, she abruptly realises, “What’s going on with you and Mandy? Is she okay with this? I don’t think I’ve seen you and her together lately.”

“We broke up.”

“It- not because of me?”

He hesitates. “I like Mandy, and when it comes to wanting her to be okay, I care about her. Otherwise, I don’t really. She asked me out, and I said yes, but she knew it was never going to be serious.”

…

She’s not sure how it started, but she finds herself in a position of thinking the only way to defend the writer who has the best grasp of Robin’s characterisation is to duel Kira to the death.

The great thing is, her appalled disgust and irritated anger is- basically her caring probably a little too much about a fictional character in a normal way.

“I’m just saying, Joss Whedon-”

“No,” she insists. “No! Whedon’s shining moment was Kaylee. He’s destroyed every other good character and relationship, and he’s going to destroy my Robin, too.”

“You like the current arc-”

“I’d like it a lot better if I wasn’t counting down for when it ends up screwed. I’m telling you the best-”

Sitting down, Boyd hands her a soda.

“Thanks.”

He nods. “No sword,” he orders Kira.

“Hey, I could totally take her, even with the sword,” she protests. “And whose side are you even on?”

“Yours,” Kira answers with a soft smile. “Always yours.”

…

She and Isaac are helping Boyd find some stuff for a science project when she sees Lydia and Allison walking together.

Hoping Boyd isn’t listening, she pulls Isaac aside. “What’s going on with Lydia? I realise I should have been asking this a long time ago, but uh, whatever happened to the twin? I know the other one is still around.”

She’s seen him holding Danny’s hand and sticking near the band during school functions.

“I’d tell you if I knew,” Isaac quietly says. “Lydia seems fine. Uh, I mean, she doesn’t seem like she’s going to cause any trouble for you. But I don’t know. While Boyd, Allison, and Mr Argent were trying to find you, Derek and I were looking for Aiden. He’s just gone, though. I don’t think anyone, except maybe his brother, has had any contact with him.”

She takes this in.

“Are you, uh, going to try to find him? I’ll- I’ll help.”

“No." Grabbing his hand, she says, “C’mon, let’s find an eyedropper.”

…

Isaac is going to prom with Allison (she’s sure Chris Argent is thrilled), Kira might be going with Scott, and apparently, most of the new, teenage supernatural additions to Beacon Hills she hasn’t bothered learning much about are going, too.

Theoretically, this means it should be safe for her to attend.

“Hey, Boyd, wanna go to prom with me?”

He looks up from his book. “Sure. What colour boutonnière should I get, and what kind of corsage do you want?”

“I’ll let you know. Um, if Kira doesn’t have a date, she’s going to be our third musketeer.”

“Okay,” he says.

…

Her mom buys her a pretty, ivory-laced cream coloured dress with sparkly hairclips, and making sure to keep the frizz out, she lets her hair’s natural curliness take over.

Boyd looks so good in his suit, there’s a moment of fear where she’s afraid this is actually a dying dream she’s having in the vault.

“Are you okay?”

His gentle, concerned voice snaps her out of it.

“Yeah,” she answers. “You look just like a modern day Lancelot. I’m really happy to be your Guinevere.”

Smiling brightly, he gives her the white sweetheart rose, white orchid black corsage he brought. “You look so beautiful.”

…

She dances with him and others until the last song.

Then, they find themselves lying down on the lacrosse field with his jacket under her.

“Boyd. Graduation will be here soon. Do you have any idea what you’re going to do?”

Beside her, he fidgets, and their arms brush.

“I got accepted into Cal Tech.”

Sitting up, she responds, “Boyd, that’s wonderful! I’m assuming this was really recent, and you _did_ have plans to tell me?”

Looking up, he nods.

Lying on her side, she moves closer to him. “Why do I feel there’s a ‘but’?”

There’s silence.

Suddenly, he blurts out, “I was hoping you’d come with me.”

Touched, she says, “I’d love to.”

She’s going to graduate, but college isn’t an option right now. Since she’s always wanted to eventually open her own bakery, she just assumed she’d either find a bakery to work in or waitress until she saved up enough.

Leaning down, she kisses him, and when he responds, part of her goes, _Oh, you’re who I’ve been wishing for_.

In the vault, they became very close, but after they reconnected after the well, she never thought- She guesses she just assumed they’d missed their chance, and she figured this was probably good for him, at least.

It feels so good, and she never wants it to stop.

Pulling away and hating both herself and the twin (Aiden?), she says, “Um, I’d really love to do more, you don’t understand how much I want to, but um- I kind of need to take things slow right now.”

“That’s fine.” Smiling softly, he touches her cheek.

Huffing, she sits down on the jacket. “No. It’s- God, I was with- screwing him less than a month after we got out. I can’t even give you a timeline of when I might be ready.”

Sitting up, he takes her hand. “Hey.”

When she looks over, he says, “I’ve never cared about that. Erica- I just love you.”

“I love you, too, Boyd.”

“Coming to Pasadena-”

“Sex is the only thing I need time for. I’d love to go with you and find a place with you.”

His smile truly is one of the most beautiful things she’s ever seen.

…

Her family isn’t happy, but Grandma Juanita grudgingly gives her blessing.

Satomi gives them a list of people they might want to establish connections with.

A week before it’s time to leave, Boyd, Isaac, Kira, and a cheerful human named Mason help her pack. She’s not sure how exactly he’s entangled in the supernatural, but given Isaac’s teasing and his response to it, she is sure he loves his boyfriend, someone named Corey.

She just desperately hopes Scott McCall doesn’t manage to screw up the life of this kid.

(She now knows the story of Victoria Argent and Scott’s refusal to tell Allison the truth.)

After loading a box into the old Buick Boyd’s cousin gave him, she turns and finds one of the twins standing in front of her.

Producing her claws, she asks, “You’re the one with Danny?”

“Ethan,” he supplies. “Danny and I are- taking a break. My brother wants to talk to you.”

“Give me a minute,” she says.

Inside, she pulls Kira aside. “I hate to ask this, but could you keep Boyd occupied for a few minutes? I- Look, the twins are nearby. I need to talk to one of them.”

“Aiden,” Kira gently asks.

“Possibly. I’ve never really thought of them with names.”

Kira sighs. “Be careful. Please. And if you get hurt, I’ll do what I have to defend myself from Boyd.”

Hugging her, Erica quietly says, “Thanks.”

…

Seeing him is somewhat anticlimactic. 

Routinely seeing his identical twin around town is probably why, she knows.

“I have a question.”

He nods.

“When we fought and you put me in the well, what- did you do anything else? When I was unconscious?”

Something close to horror and disgust crosses his face. “No. I took your cell phone out of your pocket. That’s all. I swear. I wouldn’t-” He pauses.

“I know,” she says. “The one good thing I’ll acknowledge about you is the fact you really wouldn’t use sexual violence. I just had to ask, to make sure. The mountain ash was overkill, though.”

Honest confusion radiates from him and shows in his expression. “Mountain ash?”

“There was mountain ash around the top of the well. One of the Argents had to break the seal so they could pull me out.”

“That wasn’t me.”

She’ll have to tell Boyd, but otherwise- “It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving, soon.”

“I know. That’s why I decided to take a chance at seeing you.”

“You’ve seen me. I better get back before Kira manages to babble out what I’m doing and worry the others.”

She starts to leave.

“Hey.”

Stopping, she looks over.

“Um. But you’re really doing okay?”

“I’m a work in progress,” she answers. “Right now, yeah, I am. I’m happy, and I think Boyd and I have a chance at being happy together. When it comes to you and the others, most of the time, I hate you. Sometimes, I still don’t feel anything. But sometimes, I think that, maybe, there will come a day when I'll want to talk to you and your brother and Deucalion. And I’ll probably still hate all of you afterwards, but that might be the day when I finally heal as much as I can. So, be seeing you.”

“I glad,” he softly says.

She can’t handle trying to process the statement at the moment.

…

When it’s time to go, she kisses Kira’s cheek. “I’ll Facetime you when we get to the motel, okay?”

Kira hugs her. “Good luck! To both of you.”

Boyd squeezes Kira’s hand. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”

Kira beams.

Erica softly kisses Isaac on the lips. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“You and Boyd, too,” he says. Reaching over, he squeezes Boyd’s arm, and then, gives her a big hug. “I’ll miss you.”

“We’ll miss you, too,” Boyd tells him.

They leave, and when they get to the _Leaving Beacon Hills_ sign, he stops and looks over. “Ready?”

She kisses him. “Ready.”

Squeezing her hand, he shifts the gears and continues driving.

…

_Epilogue_

As soon as Aiden enters the motel, Lydia jumps into his arms.

Through their kisses, he says, “Hey. Missed you, lately.”

“I might have been cold at night without you beside me,” she responds.

When he deposits her on the bed, she tugs him down.

Groaning, he leans back. “God, I really would rather do this, but uh, where’s Stiles? We need to talk about something.”

“Okay, seriously,” she demands.

Wincing, he traces up her leg. “Believe me, I’d really rather be doing this.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabs her phone, sends a text, and a minute later, there’s a knock on the door.

Aiden opens the door, and ignoring him, Stiles asks, “I’m assuming your boytoy has something major he absolutely needs to talk about right this minute?”

From her place on the bed, Lydia nods. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I keep him for.”

Closing the door, Aiden says, “You put mountain ash on the well. That isn’t what we talked about.”

Stiles shrugs. “Why do you care?”

“Oh, I don’t know. She could have died,” Aiden sarcastically replies.

Moving closer, Stiles responds, “Like I said, why do you care? Because if taking her virginity and having sex with a girl you kidnapped, tortured, and otherwise generally traumatised for almost four months, who, by the way, you originally had plans for her or her boyfriend or both to die, has made you develop some kind of twisted feelings for her, I hope to God, Lydia,” he glances over,” has you killed.”

“Count on it,” Lydia replies in a sweet voice.

Aiden sighs. “I wish I’d never touched her. I wish we, me and the others, had never gone after them. I regret a lot. I’m not going to spend my life beating myself over it. But supposedly, you do care about her. You want her alive and happy. Or that’s what you say. She could have drowned. She had absolutely no way out. If one of the other werewolves or Kira had found her by themselves, they couldn’t have gotten her out.”

Stiles scoffs. “I do care about her. If possible, I want her and Boyd to be safe and happy. Moreover, hey, guess what? The majority of it is on Erica herself, but otherwise, she is because of Lydia and me. Her and Boyd both. We did what was necessary. You just followed orders. In the end, that’s really all you’re good for, isn’t it? Even as an alpha, you were just a beta with red eyes.”

“Like omega Scott with his,” Aiden challenges. 

“Stiles. Aiden."

They turn.

“Neither of you truly realise how bad what’s coming is. No soldiers are better than unqualified ones. It’s better to send those would quickly fall away. Erica and Boyd were top priority.” She looks at Aiden. “I don’t care why Stiles put the mountain ash up. When the time comes, I trust him to fight with me.” Looking at Stiles, she adds, “And when the time comes, I trust Aiden, too.”

Finishing, she says, “If all three of us survive, I promise, neither of you will ever have to be in the same room, again.”

Stiles nods. “I’ll leave the two of you alone. Derek and I have some more things to work out.”

“No killing Peter,” Lydia orders.

Winking, Stiles says, “I’ll try, that’s all I can promise."

He leaves.

Reaching over, she pulls Aiden on top of her. “You’re not going to keep-”

Kissing her deeply, he moves his hand down, and she gasps. “Trust me, right now, I’m not going to focus on anything but how to make sure my name is the only thing you can say.”

“Try to see if you can make it the only thing I _think_ ,” she challenges.

Grinning, he moves his hand, and her eyes roll backward. “I will.”


End file.
